Reduce, Reuse, Then Consider Recycle

by Benia Zouras
July 1, 2008

Ever since Native Suburbia was conceived, Don and I have become ever more aware of the need to help keep the balance of nature in check. We are always looking for ways to reverse the disturbing trends of pollution, climate change, species extinction, and resource shortages. The basic principle that has become almost second nature to us is to "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" as much as possible. These three R's are key to minimizing pollution and landfill use, and hopefully to helping Earth survive the human invasion.

"Reduce" is about using less and minimizing waste and has the most impact
on keeping the planet healthy. Analyze your usage of resources and products.
If you find yourself discarding a product or resource, try adjusting the
amount you take or buy. Strive to only take what you will use. This is especially
important for resources like water, gas, electricity, and oil, as well as
with perishables that "go bad" or expire if unused before too long, like
foods and medicines. An added benefit to you will be a reduction in wasted
dollars, since everything costs money. Think about anything you buy and
reserve for yourself, but don't use to its full potential. There is not
an unlimited supply of resources, especially today, in our overcrowded planet.
We all have to share the same pool of stuff, so make it last. Don't reserve
someone else's share just to be frittered away.

"Reuse" is about giving new life to old, used items, after exhausting or failing the "reduce" measure above.
Don and I are constantly amazed at the durability of so-called "disposable" items being produced in the world today. After watching a documentary about Chinese factory workers who toil to produce Mardi Gras beads for New Orleans tourists to toss at strangers who usually left them for the trash by the next day, I felt ashamed to be an American. Our country is one of the most wasteful on the planet. Most people don't think anything of tossing beads into the street only to have them swept up and trucked away to a landfill for eternity. The amount of pollution and resources that went into those beads are huge, despite their low price tags, not to mention all the hard work done by the factory workers on the other side of the world with hardly anything to show for it. The next time you toss a plastic spoon into the trash just because it fell on the floor, think about what was required to create it and bring it to you...and where it will reside for the rest of your life.

"Recycle" is about making the most of materials that can be re-processed and made useful again, after exhausting or failing both the "reduce" and "reuse" measures above.
When it becomes impractical or impossible to try to reuse an item (such as printed materials), recycling becomes a last ditch effort to give it another go. Rather than taking up space in the dump, allow someone with the proper facilities to transform your items into useful items once again. It's important to stress that recycling alone is simply not enough to help reduce the Earth's problems. Recycling is the last resort because the very process resembles creation of new products - the only difference is that some of the resources are not new. Anything getting thrown into the recycling box and left on the curb gets trucked away, sorted, prepped for processing, then used as an ingredient in new products. Energy and other resources are always used up during the recycling process (otherwise I would consider this the "reuse" measure).

Recycling is only better than completely trashing items because it saves landfill space and possible pollution, but production of new items almost always results in other types of pollution and use of valuable resources. If you truly care about saving the planet, you must strive to do all three R's, placing most importance on "Reduce", next on "Reuse", then, as a final option when none better exists, resort to "Recycle" if you must.

There are many ways to implement the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" practice during
your everyday living. As we continue to critique our own lifestyle choices,
we learn new ways to help a little bit more. Below are just some of the
ways I can think of that we follow this principle. (Initially I thought
I'd have 3 or 4 items in each category, but once I started thinking about
it, we have implemented many positive changes over the years so far!) I
hope this list inspires you to do more for Mother Nature. She has been good
to us. This is the least we can do to return the favor.

Reduce:

We have replaced our useless turf grass lawn with native plants! Species
that are native to our local area don't require mowing or watering once
established, saving both water and gas, and reducing noise and air pollution
as well. (We didn't water our turf grass when we used to have it, either,
and we rarely mowed it. It survived just fine.)

We turn off the faucet while brushing our teeth.

We use cloth napkins at home.

We use a programmable thermostat to regulate temperature in our home
to be optimal only when necessary.

We wait until the dishwasher and washing machine are loaded to full
capacity before running them.

We remove ourselves from mailing lists whenever possible to help reduce
junk mail.

We replace our old, failing appliances with energy-efficient ones.

We installed a metal roof on our home, which will last many times longer
than a typical asphalt roof, reducing the need for replacement (and disposal).

We ask for our water without straws and avoid straws in general for
drinks.

We buy items in bulk whenever possible, especially non-perishable items,
but also some foods that will keep longer, too, which reduces packaging
materials. We buy minimal amounts of highly perishable items to reduce
wasted product.

We minimize on fuel usage by combining trips whenever possible. We
also get plenty of supplies while shopping so we don't have to make many
emergency, single-goal trips.

We take and save any extra paper napkins already placed on our restaurant
table for other uses.

We actively select paperless communications (preferring the Internet
to newspapers as a source for news, preferring email to snail mail, paperless
statements, etc.).

We have given up the practice of gift-wrapping altogether. Just looking
at that single-use decorative paper is a turn off when we think of what
is involved in the life of a roll of wrapping paper, even if it contains
recycled paper. Wonderful surprises can still be had without such wastefulness
that hurts the planet.

Reuse:

We take durable, cloth bags with us when grocery shopping which helps
keep plastic bags from going to the landfill.

We try to fix slightly damaged or broken items before considering discarding
them. I'm no tailor, but I can sew a hole on a torn shirt. Sometimes a
dab of glue can save a slightly damaged item. If we aren't sure how to
fix something or what is wrong, we try to ask an expert to assess possible
repairs. (It goes without saying that we use care with our possessions,
to reduce the possibility of breakage in the first place.)

We wash and reuse plastic cutlery for our portable lunches. They are
remarkably durable; they have survived many dishwasher runs! Why are they
considered single-use items?

We purchased washable, microwaveable, glass containers with lids for
leftovers and portable lunches, and we use them over and over again.

Those cloth napkins of ours get reused every time we dine in.

We print driving directions and other temporarily necessary information
on the backs of paper that has already been used on one side. Incoming
junk mail envelopes also make for good shopping lists or task lists, etc.

We took unwanted landscaping bricks from our yard and built a small
wall for our compost pile. We also converted some curved pieces into "toad
abodes" for smaller animals to hide in.

Rather than purchasing new novels for recreational reading, we borrow
books that are new to us from our local library.

Recycle:

Any glass, paper, metal, and plastic (select codes) items that have not
been given a second life get sent to the recycling center.

We selectively choose to buy products with containers that can be recycled
and avoid Earth-damaging materials (like Styrofoam and non-recyclable plastics)
whenever possible.

Our kitchen scraps and hand-pulled weeds get added to our compost pile
in the corner of our yard. When it has fully decomposed, our compost gets
added to our garden for our plants to use. We also have a brush pile for
our many fallen branches, where birds and small animals take shelter.

We have a rain garden full of native plants that use the rainwater and
groundwater pumped out from our sump pump to grow. Our plants also prevent
flooding by actually taking up the water, rather than allowing it to fill
storm sewers and contribute to flooding.

We collect rainwater in rain barrels to use for our food garden. The
barrels themselves were also created using old pepper barrels.

We are active at local "free-cycle" groups, sharing items that might
otherwise end up in landfills. We managed to give away plenty of things
that were just taking up space in our home.

We donate clothing and other unneeded or unwanted items in decent condition
to charity, so others can use them and give them new life.